Game Buoy Podcast Episode 188 – The 2025 Buoy Awards
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Ahoy, mateys, and welcome to the GAMEBUOY.ORG video game podcast – your port of call for gaming news and views that maybe aren’t on your radar, but most definitely should be! On this episode, recorded Thursday, February 5, 2026, Captain Spike and First Mate Slaggy McWaggy discuss the biggest news stories of 2025 and their favorite games of the year!
HOT TOPIC IS THE WAY THAT WE RHYME
- As part of an organizational, operational, and portfolio reset, Ubisoft has canceled the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake and four other titles and increased the cost of Just Dance+ by $1/month; however, Beyond Good and Evil 2 remains a priority.
- Microsoft’s Q2 earnings show their gaming division is overall not doing well.
- Blizzard is in the middle of rolling out showcases to celebrate their 35th anniversary, but Starcraft is notably absent.
- In a trailer for the Virtual Boy – Nintendo Classics app, Nintendo has revealed that the previously unreleased games Zero Racers and D-Hopper will be launching for the first time in 2026.
- FF7 Remake Trilogy director Naoki Hamaguchi has confirmed that Queen’s Blood will be returning in the third game in an expanded form.
- Intel is going to start prioritizing data centers over manufacturing processors for consumers.
- Due to the AI industry’s impact on computer components, the Steam Machine has been delayed.
- Dynasty Warriors 3 Remastered has been indefinitely delayed, but Koei Tecmo insists it has not been cancelled.
RELEASE UPDATES
- Super Robot Wars Y’s “DLC #2: Awakening of a Soul” is out now.
- Arc System Works’ visual novel Dear Me, I Was… is getting a smartphone, Switch, and PC release on February 12.
- A demo for Vampire Crawlers launches on February 23 for Xbox Series and PC.
- Scott Pilgrim EX launches digitally for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC via Steam on March 3.
- Marathon will launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC via Steam on March 5.
- Alex will be released for Street Fighter 6 on March 17.
- Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage for Switch 2 launches March 26, with an open beta test set for February 19 to 24.
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park launches March 26, with the Talking Flower launching March 12.
- Forza Horizon 6 launches May 19 for Xbox Series and PC, coming later in 2026 for PS5.
- Bubsy 4D will launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, Switch 2, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG on May 22.
CULTURE CLUB
- GDC has released their 2026 survey of U.S. game developers.
- Google’s generative AI tool, Project Genie, is creating clones of games like Breath of the Wild.
- A Target employee used a price scanner to show the rising costs in real time of PC and game storage and memory.
- Fortnite creators are using women to promote their content, but the women had no part in the development.
- Build a Rocket Boy is still paying Twitch streamers to do sponsored Mindseye streams.
- Toshiyuki Itahana, the character designer known for Final Fantasy IX and other gems, has left Square Enix to work as a freelance illustrator.
- Vince Zampella, co-founder of Infinity Ward and Respawn Entertainment, was tragically killed in a car crash.
- Word has gotten out that Nintendo legend Hideki Konno, who was an essential part of the Mario Kart franchise, has retired.
- Upon the release of Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties, Yakuza 3 Remastered will only be available as part of the expensive Yakuza Complete Series bundle.
- Apex Legends will be discontinued on Switch 1 as of August 4.
- The third game in the FF7 Remake trilogy will still run on Unreal Engine 4.
- Kazuma Kaneko will be porting 3,600 AI generated art cards into his new Switch game, Tsukuyomi.
- Aniplex and Too Kyo Games have officially rebranded The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy as a “1&2 Pack”.
- Limited Run Games is taking preorders for Ren & Stimpy Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy Collection for PlayStation 5, Switch, and PC via Steam from now until March 1.
- Limited Run Games has released the Nickelodeon Splat Pack, containing Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, Nickelodeon G.U.T.S., and Rocko’s Modern Life: Spunky’s Dangerous Day.
- Donkey Kong Country 2 Returns HD has received a Switch 2 update, which includes the addition of Dixie Kong.
MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO
- Game Freak has shown off footage of Beast of Reincarnation and revealed that it will launch this summer for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox PC, Xbox Cloud, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam.
- A new Dragon Ball game with the codename “Age 1000” has been announced, with new DLC announced for Dragon Ball Sparking Zero.
- Arc System works will be releasing River City Saga: Journey to the West for PlayStation 5, Switch, and PC via Steam in 2026.
- The upcoming Switch and Switch 2 release of Disney Afternoon Collection will add 2 new titles, Bonkers and Goof Troop.
- Square Enix has revealed they are releasing a new, improved version of FF7 on Steam.
- Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream will be released on April 16.
- true to their word, Nintendo is allowing for more inclusive representations of players under the LGBTQIA+ umbrella.
SO CONTROVERSIAL
- Certain bad actors are upset about the diverse gender and romance options in Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream.
- Nintendo has responded to Dispatch’s censorship in the Switch release.
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s Indie Game Awards awards were rescinded due to use of generative AI in the development of the game.
- Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties has an ugly looking alleyway in the demo, but Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios ensures gamers that the lighting will be fixed for the final release.
- Sony has filed a patent for generative AI podcasts starring characters in games you’ve recently played on your PlayStation.
DOOM AND GLOOM
- As of January 13, comcept has been officially dissolved per a shareholder’s resolution.
- Meta will be closing game studios Armature Studio, Sanzaru Games, and Twisted Pixel.
SMASH HIT
RUMOR HAS IT
- The Hitman crossover content planned for MindsEye is apparently no longer happening.
- Pikmin 2 and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes appeared on a Walmart ad for Nintendo GameCube – Nintendo Classics, but Nintendo insists these games are not currently planned for release.
MINI-DISCUSSION
Captain Spike and First Mate Slaggy McWaggy discuss the Nintendo Switch 2 Partner Showcase from February 5, 2026, covering each game shown during the presentation, and give their overall thoughts for the Nintendo Direct!
DISCUSSION TOPIC
This week, Captain Spike and First Mate Slaggy McWaggy look back at the year 2025 in gaming! They start by taking a look at the ten biggest stories in gaming that they covered over the past year. Then, it’s time for The Buoy Awards, where the Podcast Pirates share their favorite games from 2025! Finally, they wrap up the discussion by sharing how they did with their 2025 gaming goals, along with their 2026 gaming resolutions.
WHAT’S UP
Captain Spike has been playing Super Mario 64, Marvel Rivals, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, Octopath Traveler 0, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, and Super Mario Galaxy 2. First Mate Slaggy McWaggy has been playing Pokemon Legends Z-A, Marvel Rivals, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Final Fantasy XIV, Kirby Air Riders, and Once Upon a Katamari.
SOCIAL LINKS QUESTION OF THE WEEK
This week, we’re talking about 2025’s most noteworthy games (for good and bad)! What games did you play that stood out to you in 2025?
Bonus question: We’re also going to be talking about some of the gaming news stories that defined 2025 for us. What stories defined 2025 for you?
EXITLUDE
SHOUT OUTS – “FRIENDS OF BUOY”
- Orange Lounge Radio IIDX, where every geek has a voice
- Aftermath, an independent, worker-owned website about video games, other media and internet culture
- Game Mechanics, where TTRPG designers “kick tires and run diagnostics on tabletop experiences”
- Walloping Websnappers! A Spider-Man Podcast, a dive into every Spider-Man cartoon ever made
- The Bobby Blackwolf Show, a weekly internet radio show and podcast discussing the latest news in gaming as well as sometimes reminiscing about gaming’s history
- Video Game Realness, a dose of gaming chit chat among friends
- Nintendo Pow Block, a dive into the week that was in the world of Nintendo
- Standard Issue Computing, retro and modern computer games, hardware, software, and history
- Sasha’s Retrobytes, “bytes” of vintage gaming including magazine scans and photographs
- Defunct Games, your daily source for modern video game reviews, exciting trivia competitions and old school magazine analysis
- Thomas Game Docs, where each video covers “a different aspect of video game history”
- Craig,
Slaggy McWaggy’s robot boyfrienda multi-track voice channel recording bot for Discord